Ainslie Dewe

The Board of Directors may confer the distinction of Fellow on a member who, in the opinion of the Board, has reached an exceptionally high standard of proficiency in library and information science and has made a distinguished contribution to the theory or practice of library and information science. The Board of Directors welcomes Ainslie Dewe to an elite group of distinguished members of the profession.

Ainslie Dewe is University Librarian at La Trobe University, in Melbourne. Prior to taking up this appointment in 2008, Ainslie was University Librarian and Director of Knowledge Management at Auckland University of Technology from 2002 and 2008 and was Director, RMIT University Library, also in Melbourne, from 1997 to 2002.

Ainslie has been a member of Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) from 1997-2002 and from 2008 to date. Ainslie was a member of the CAUL Statistics Focus Group from 1997-2002 and chaired it from 1999-2001. As Chair, Ainslie worked to enable the collection of accurate, relevant and authoritative data to inform the management of Australian and New Zealand University libraries, and she promoted methodology for valuing the economic costs and benefits of libraries, developed with Coopers and Lybrand. Since her return to Australia in 2008 Ainslie has been a member of the CAUL Executive Committee, and is currently the Deputy President. Additionally, Ainslie is a member of the CAUL Library Staff Development Conference 2010 Committee. This two day conference aims to raise awareness of the major issues affecting the higher education sector and the implications for university libraries. It also provides an excellent opportunity for delegates to exchange experiences and develop a national network of colleagues.

Ainslie was a significant contributor to CAUL's submission to DEEWR's inquiry into An Indicator Framework for Higher Education Performance Funding in 2010. Ainslie represented CAUL at the Productivity Commission roundtable on parallel important of books in April 2009. She represented CAUL at a committee hearing of the Senate Employment, Workplace Relations, Small Business and Education References Committee into the capacity of public universities to meet Australia's higher education needs in 2001, as well as at The Inaugural Tertiary Education Associations Forum in 2009 (8/10/09) and at Exploring Educational Possibilities: Emerging Technologies and the National Broadband in 2009.

Ainslie was the Convenor of Librarians of the Australian Technology Network (LATN) from 1998-2000, during which time she led strategic planning sessions and development of action plan. She was a Board member of CAVAL (Cooperative Action by Victorian Academic Libraries) Ltd from 1997-2002.

Ainslie has presented papers at a workshop in Hanoi aimed at collaborative decisions on library standards for the Vietnamese Ministries of Education and Training, Culture and Information, and Science, Technology and the Environment (2001) and has prepared and presented the submission from the Council of Australian University Librarians to the Australian Senate Employment, Workplace Relations, Small Business and Education References Committee on "The capacity of public universities to meet Australia's higher education needs" (2001).

Ainslie has represented Australia and New Zealand on the IATUL (International Association of Technological University Libraries) Board since 2006. She is the current President. In 2008 she was the convenor of the IATUL Conference 'Digital discovery; strategies and solutions' held at Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand.

Ainslie's contributions have been recognised in New Zealand through the awarding of a LIANZA Fellowship. In 2007 Ainslie was appointed as the Inaugural Chair of the Kiwi Research Information Service (KRIS) Governance Group. KRIS is a gateway to open-access New Zealand research documents.

From 2003-2006 Ainslie was the Inaugural Chair of the New Zealand Library and Information Advisory Commission, LIAC is an advisory body reporting to Minister Responsible for the National Library on the role of library and information services, including M?tauranga M?ori, in the social, cultural and economic life of Aotearoa New Zealand. Ainslie was a Director on the LCoNZ (Library Consortium of New Zealand) Ltd Board from 2004-2008, when she returned to Australia.

Ainslie was a New Zealand Vice Chancellors' nominee member of the New Zealand Tertiary (e)Learning Reference Group (Ministry of Education) from 2004-2007. Ainslie was a member of the Committee of New Zealand University Librarians (CONZUL) from 1988-1997 and again in 2002, and was Convenor from 1996-1997. From 1992-1997 Ainslie was a member of the New Zealand Vice Chancellors' Committee Standing Committee on Copyright.

Ainslie was the president of the New Zealand Library and Information Association (NZLIA) from 1994-1995, during which time she was a member of the Vision Group for national strategic planning process "to improve the effectiveness of information use by New Zealanders for learning and prosperity", and she chaired the Project team for Te Ara Tika - research into Maori information needs. Her Presidency coincided with the NZLIA/ALIA Joint Conference held in Wellington in 1994.

In awarding the distinction of Fellow of the Australian Library and Information Association on Ainslie Dewe, the Association recognises the significant and valuable contribution Ainslie has made to the library and information services profession in Australia, and also abroad, and her dedication to the aims of the Association.